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June 5, 1981

Friction is growing between the Pentagon and school districts all over the country. Reagan wants to drastically cut back (from 3,900 to 329) school districts receiving federal "impact aid." Such aid is meant to compensate local governments for the cost of educating military base children. It amounts to $ 650 million a year. Democrats on the House Education and Labor Committee this week voted to abolish impact aid.

Threatened by the cutback, several states have retaliated with proposed tuition charges for public school pupils in impact- aid areas. If nothing else, they think, military families will protest loudly to their representatives on Capitol Hill.

Defense Department lawyers say charging military families tuition is illegal, but they are worried nonethe less.m